Plastic milk carton case



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s Ariuniti* v'orrlciz- PLASTIC MILK CARTON CASE Louis C. Folst, Los Angeles; Calif., assignor to .j Edgewick Investment Co., Los Angeles, Calif., a corporation of California i vlamination october 2, 1944, serial No. 556,689

.a new and improved unitary `plastic casein which side walls-and bottom are formed integral one with the other in order to provide a compact and inexpensive case, the walls and bottom of which` may be retained at substantially a minimum thickness.

Anotheriobject Aof my invention is to provide a new and improved plastic case in which all of the junctions between side walls and bottom are completely filled so that no crevices nor cracks `are left in which dirt may accumulate or in which insects may seek refuge or incubate.

Still another object of my invention is to provide a new and improved plastic case wherein the bottom and side walls are so joined that there is no separating line between them and which is further provided with` a set of projections on one side complementary with the recesses on the other side so that a number of cases can be stacked conveniently one upon the other to a considerable height.

A further object of my invention is to provide a unitary case made of material such as plastic so that the entire device can be cast as one piece and which is further provided with recesses and projections to facilitate the stacking of one case upon another with the recesses so constructed that they provide an auxiliary handhold for lifting the case.

A further object still is to provide plastic cases and containers which have a uniform outside dimension but which are provided with projections extending inwardly from the outside wall for the purpose of varying the inside dimensions of the lower portion of the case to accommodate containers of different sizes and further having the inwardly extending projections so devised that they perform the double function of providing an auxiliary handhold outside the case to facilitate handling.

With these and other objects in view, my in vention consists in the construction, arrangement and combination of the various parts of my device whereby the objects contemplated are attained, as hereinafter more fully set forth, pointed out in my claim and illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a longitudinal sectional view of the case.

cases, and in particular Fig. 2 is a plan View of the case. f Fig. 3 is an end view showing a portion of a seci ond case placed on top.

Fig. a is an elevational View, partly in section of a modified form of mydevice.

Due to the shortage of certain critical materials in` recent years there has been a marked demand for the substitution of plastics and this in `turn Ah'asgiven rise to some changes in design of the object in which the plastic is sought to be substituted so that designershave been able to take advantage of considerable economy of material and at the same time incorporate additional features into the article itself. Although some Yof these features may `not appear at first glance to be of a profound character, they are for the most part the results of careful research and design in order to make a practical, simple construction.

In order to economas on material it has been found expedient to make certain improvements serve a double function and considerable advantage has been taken of this in the present invention. Eiort has been directed toward minimizing the quantity ofvmaterial in the case not only for the purpose of using the `least amountcommensurate with the' construction of a strong and durable device but also for the purpose of keeping the device to minimum outside dimensions so that the maximum number possible may be stacked in agiven space. The device, by reason of being made of plastic, is particularly advantageous for carrying bottles made of waxed or parchmentizedand waterproof paper which have lbeen designed for carrying milk and similar liquids, these waxed bottles having been transported only with great diiiiculty and inconvenience in cases already on the market. Rough edges, corners and projections as well as inappropriate sizes of the cases have caused containers such as wax bottles to become chafed, and in many cases punctured, and therefore unmarketable. l

In a preferred embodiment of my invention 1 have shown a case generally indicated by the character l!) designed to hold waxed cardboard bottles l2 indicated by the dotted lines in Fig. 1. customarily the case is made to a dimension such that l2 or 24 of the bottles will t into it snugly to minimize the chafing or rubbing.

The case consists of end walls I4 and l5 and side Walls I6 and l1. These walls have fiat smooth outer faces and are joined by means of i'llleted corners I8 on the outside and I9 on the inside. The end walls are provided with holes 2l and 23 to provide convenient hand holds for lifting the tate washing and permits water to drain out of the casing.

Plastic material has been found most advantageous and this may include one of the various plastics as for example, any condensation product, resin or polymer, thermosetting or thermoplastic composition, phenol-formaldehyde resin being an example.

On the top edges of each of the side walls there is provided in the embodiment shown a pair of projections 28, 30. Similar projections 32, 34 are provided on the end walls. The projections have the outer face in each instance smooth and flush with the side or end walls immediately below it.

The other or inside face of each projection is tapered inwardly toward the top as are also the end edges. The tops of the projections however remain fiat but are smaller in area than the area of the bottom in each case. It is notable also that the projections are all spaced inwardly from the corners and are spaced one from the other, all of the projections being the same height above a plane coincident with the top of the walls.

At the bottom edges of the side walls there are provided a pair of recesses 36 and 38 and on the end walls a pair of corresponding recesses 4D and 42. The recesses in the bottom edges are positioned so that they correspond in position and location with the projections opposite them on the top of the walls. The recesses in each case have the end edges tapered to a degree corresponding to the taper on the end edges of the projections as best seen in Figs. 1 and 3. The inner face 44 of the recess in each case may be made vertical rather than tapered.

It should be noted that the recesses in each case are open at the side so that whenever the case rests upon a smooth surface they provide a handheld by means of which the case can be lifted.

Because of the fact that the projections on the top are tapered on three sides, making the top considerably smaller than the bottom, it becomes easy to place one case upon another since the case placed on top need be shifted about only a small amount until the tops of the projections nd their way into the bottoms of the recesses.' In this latter position they act as a centering means for positioning one case precisely on top of another.

In addition to having the bottom 20 elevated a short distance above the lower faces of the side walls the bottoms are further perforated with a number of holes. The presence of holes facilitates cleaning, lessens the weight and, in conjunction with the space beneath the lower face of the bottom, permits a certain amount of air circulation around the contents of the case. Likewise, by reason of having the bottom spaced a short distance above the lower edges of the side walls, the bottom of the case will thus be lifted above any surfaces on which the case may be set which, if wet, would permit the inside of the case to become wet and perhaps damage the contents of the case should they be waxed paper bottles or objects of similar character.

Waxed paper bottles and similar bottles and containers are better handled when the case which contains them ts them rather snugly in order to prevent them rattling about during shipment. On the other hand, however, in warehouses and storage houses Where these cases may be kept it is highly desirable to have the outside dimensions maintained uniform. Therefore in the modified form as shown inFigs. 4 and 5 the outside dimensions are maintained the same by having the side walls extend inwardly near the bottom part of the case so that paper containers of different dimensions may be held snugly within the walls of the case. The inwardly projecting part of the side wall has been designated by the reference character 48. To economize on material the inwardly projecting portion has substantially the same thickness as the original side wall and provides a recess 50 and the curved top portion 52 of the recess provides an auxiliary handhold. The recess also has a bottom 54 extending outwardly to add to the reinforcement of the bottom corners. In other respects the modified form resembles the form illustrated in Figs. l, 2 and 3.

There has been provided therefor an especially compact and durable plastic case for wax containers and the like which is of unitary construction and possesses among other advantages those of ease in cleaning, strength and simplicity.

I claim:

A smooth, unitary, splinterless case for waxed paper, milk cartons and the like comprising: unitary side walls, end walls and bottom, the bottom being reticulated and raised above the level of the bottom edges of the side and end walls; the upper edge of each of said walls being provided with a pair of spaced, upwardly extending projections integral with the walls, each of said projections having an outer face flush with the outer surface of the wall, with two end faces sloping inwardly toward the top, and an inclined face sloping outwardly and upwardly from the inner surface of the Wall; the bottom edge of each of said Walls being provided with a pair of upwardly extending recesses spaced t0 receive projections of a case upon which the instant case is stacked, the recesses being open to the outside faces of the Walls and adapted thereby to furnish auxiliary hand holds, the end Walls of each recess being inclined to guidingly receive and center the projections of a case upon which the case is stacked.

LOUIS C. FOLST. 

